


Reading

by The_Plaid_Slytherin



Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: Colonial Religion, Earth 2.0, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-04
Updated: 2013-09-04
Packaged: 2017-12-25 15:35:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/954804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Plaid_Slytherin/pseuds/The_Plaid_Slytherin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Saul talks Bill into seeing an oracle before their wedding and he gets more than he bargained for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reading

**Author's Note:**

> This is inspired by a conversation with laura_mayfair and my penchant for sticking Bill into uncomfortable situations.

"It's a tradition," Saul said, one night at dinner. "We gotta do it." 

"I don't know what the point is," Bill said, not looking up from his soup. "If it's a bad reading, are you not going to marry me?"

"Of course not," Saul said defensively. "I asked you, didn't I?"

"You did," Bill agreed, remembering Saul down on one knee on the hangar deck right before they left _Galactica_ for the last time, the nervousness in his eye that said plainly that even after thirty years, even after the way Bill had stood by him as a Cylon, that he was still afraid Bill might say no. That had meant Bill had made it his mission to spend every day for the rest of his life making sure Saul knew he was deserving of love.

And Bill picked his battles.

"Okay," he said, pushing his glasses up. "We'll go."

**

Saul booked them for the following Wednesday. It was a week before the wedding and even though Bill didn't believe any of this, he was still nervous.

"It's a ritual," Saul told him as they walked through town. The settlement was bustling with activity on this chilly autumn morning and Bill thought about the things he'd rather be doing, like laundry or wedding prep.

"You go first," Saul said when they reached the oracle's tent.

"What?" Bill spun to face him. "You're the one who wants to do this."

"Yeah," said Saul, clapping him on the shoulder, "and the earlier you go in the earlier you get out and can go to the bookstall."

Bill let his gaze drift to the market tent directly across from the oracle. Books were a tempting incentive. Grumbling about how Saul always knew how to push his buttons, he lifted the flap and stepped inside.

The incense stung his nose and at first he thought no one was there until a voice spoke.

"Hello."

It took a moment for Bill's eyes to adjust to the darkness in the tent and find the source of the voice. The oracle was wrapped in robes and scarves and she sat back from the light as if she were sensitive to it.

 _Maybe she is_ , Bill thought, wondering about some of the photosensitive properties of the smoke. He tried not to inhale.

"Have a seat," she said, waving at the cushion. Bill let his legs give way. He was a little stiff and he wasn't sure he could get up again. Could she see that in her smoke?

"Your name and your patrons?"

At least she got right to business. "William - no, wait, Goulielmos." William was his legal name but something like this probably required the Tauron form he had been dedicated with. Bill scratched his mustache and held in a sneeze.

She took a stick from the burner and wrote in the sand. "And your fiancé's name?"

"Saul." He didn't know the Aerilon form. Saol? He couldn't pronounce Aerilon. And he was a Cylon anyway. Did that matter?

What she wrote looked nothing like either of those things. From Bill's vantage point it looked like it had too many Bs and Hs.

"And your patrons?" 

"Um. Ares and Zeus." 

She nodded. Bill hadn't thought about his patrons at all since Zak's dedication, when he'd had to pick one of them to pass down. (He'd made Saul pick; he'd picked Ares.) 

"The purpose of this reading is to guide you through your marriage," she said, selecting two stones and laying them in the circle. "Many couples believe it helps with the difficult early years, as well as revealing previously unknown incompatibilities." 

Bill frowned. He and Saul had been together long enough that they'd have to know if they were compatible. 

"Okay," Bill said, feeling a bit challenging. "Tell me if we're compatible." 

She took a scoop of water and tossed it on the coals, filling the room with smoke. Bill coughed.

"Two different species," she remarked. "The fact that you even met is a mark in your favor." 

Bill had thought about that, too. Not too much, but he had thought about it sometimes when he was lying awake at night and holding Saul extra close, that there was no way they "should" have met. 

"You often have doubts about him," she went on. "About his not being human." 

"No," Bill lied. "I love him." 

"I know you do. But that doesn't mean you don't have doubts." 

Bill squirmed. Who was she to say that about them? 

"He will be a good provider for you, though," she went on. "It's what he wants more than anything." 

_Okay_ , Bill thought. _I guess he's the one providing for me; he's part of the hunting party while I just teach… but it's not like the parents don't pay me._

"Anyone who knows us would know that," he finally said. 

"But I don't know you." She reached for another stick. "This is what the smoke is telling me." 

_Charlatan_ , Bill thought. This would be the last time he went through a religious thing for Saul. Next time he was asked to go to services, he was sleeping in. Even on Solstice. 

"He feels like there's something he has to make up to you. I see a winged woman, does that make sense?" 

"You mean like a valkyire?" Bill said without thinking and then cursed himself. That was how they got you; they got you talking and then they'd know everything about you. 

"Does that mean anything to you?" 

"Yeah," Bill said, refusing to elaborate. She knew who he was, anyhow. He wasn't anonymous here. Everybody knew Saul was a Cylon. 

"He needs reassurance," she went on. "His life up until he met you has been a lie. He needs to know you love him." 

"I certainly do," Bill muttered. 

"And marriage is a step in the right direction here. And I know you had your doubts about his loyalty, about his faithfulness."

Bill froze. "What?" he asked in a low voice. She was still making crap up, right? 

"All those memories flooding in… you were worried he would run off with the Cylons… you were worried he'd become someone else. _Choose_ someone else. One of his own people." 

"How do you know that?" he asked sharply. He no longer cared about giving himself away. He was annoyed now. Where was she getting this from?

"I can see it," she said lazily, drawing a stick through the sand. 

"Don't say anything to him," he said shakily. He didn't know why he'd said that—she wasn't supposed to know what she was talking about, right? Why was he so worried? 

"Don't worry. Your readings are confidential. And I know you never stopped loving him, even when you first found out what he was."

Bill remembered that initial awfulness, how disgusted he felt. He didn't want Saul to know how he'd made himself sick because he had _let a Cylon touch him_ , that he'd needed to work himself up to having sex again. 

He shook his head, trying to chase the memories away.

"You're apprehensive about the future, but you shouldn't be. Your marriage will be built on a bedrock of trust. It's good that you already worked all this out before you were married." She smiled. "It means you come to each other clean, holding nothing back." 

That sounded pretty good to Bill, actually. "So, do you, um, think getting married is the right choice?" He didn't know why he was asking, didn't know why he was engaging with her, but it was suddenly absolutely crucial that he ask this. 

"I think so. It's good to affirm your commitment before the gods. Even if you don't believe." She had that knowing smile again and Bill couldn't remember if he had told her he didn't believe. He didn't think he had… 

"I also think it's important due to what he is. It's very important to show cooperation between humans and Cylons. As long as you keep yourself open to new experiences, you'll be happy."

Bill nodded. That had basically been the past thirty years, hadn't it? For the first time, he felt himself becoming excited about the idea of Saul as his husband. It wasn't that he hadn't been excited before, but Saul had just always been there—what good did it do to get dressed up and have a ceremony about it, when the day after the wedding would be exactly the same as the day before the wedding? 

He was starting to feel different about it now, though. 

When he stepped, blinking, back out into the real world, it almost felt as though the reading hadn't happened at all. He was suddenly angry with himself for taking it so seriously, for believing what she said. 

"Your turn," he said to Saul, when he'd crossed the path over to the bookseller's. This would definitely help him get past his unsettled feeling. Books were good like that. 

Saul gave him an odd look and disappeared inside the tent. Bill lost track of time while he was browsing and gathering an armload of books, so he had no idea how long Saul's reading went on. He was startled when his fiancé appeared at his elbow.

"You gonna buy all those?" He slipped his arms around Bill from behind and pressed a kiss to the hollow of his neck, nearly making Bill drop his books.

"This is _my_ religious pilgrimage." 

Saul snickered and took the books from him. "Fair enough. Okay, flyboy. I'll get these sorted out."

Bill watched him go, open-mouthed. What had the oracle said to him? Something was obviously up—he hadn't called him flyboy in years, not to mention buying him a stack of books with minimal teasing. 

"We don't have to get them all if we can't afford it," Bill said, following him. 

"Naw, naw." Saul dropped the books on the counter. "Barter system! We can afford anything." He pulled Bill into something like a headlock and kissed him. 

Bill held his tongue until they were on the way home.

"What's with you?" he asked suddenly. 

"What do you mean?" Saul was grinning at him but it didn't quite reach his eye. 

"She said something to you." Bill linked arms with Saul. 

"Supposed to be confidential." Saul shifted the books on his hip. "Just showing you how much I appreciate you, is all. All you've done for me."

Bill smiled. "Think you're coming on a bit too strong." 

Saul made a face. "Okay. Some of the things she said just got to me."

"Yeah." Bill rested his head on Saul's shoulder. "Me too." 

"I love you." 

"Love you, too." 

"And thanks. For putting up with me all these years."

Bill smiled. "Could say the same to you. So, you think we're compatible?" 

Saul got a contemplative look on his face. "I reckon so. More or less." He shrugged. "Anyway, it's too late to change now, right?" 

It was. Bill supposed they'd have to make do.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Heart Fire](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4861118) by [Laura_Mayfair](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laura_Mayfair/pseuds/Laura_Mayfair)




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